


Forever

by thedollars666



Series: coming together [16]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 08:51:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9648722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedollars666/pseuds/thedollars666
Summary: After a celebration of their heroic efforts from Stargate Command, Daniel and Jack are forced to come to terms with the fact there might still be something between them after all.





	

Daniel sent a small smile Sam's way, she was wearing her dress blues, her now long hair done up nicely and neatly in a tight bun. He wondered, what possessed her to finally let it grow out. Granted, she wasn't meant to be part of SG1 anymore, but persuasion by Mitchell was inevitable. He wondered if she had gotten together with Pete again, he knew the man had made her happy. He didn't think they would have defeated the Ori if not for her. Despite his team telling him more then once he was a big part of that too. Daniel just couldn't help himself, he was modest. He was still on a high over the defeat of them. They all were, but this official celebration had him nervous. He hated public celebrations like this, always had avoided them, even at his university. This was worse, this was something bigger, for starters, the president was going to be here, giving a speech of some sorts. Daniel looked around, Teal'c and Mitchell to his left, the Colonel in his own dress blues, Teal'c in a nice grey suit. Vala next to Sam, wearing a stunning midnight blue dress, her hair wavy to her shoulders. He often found himself thinking how attractive she was, how they found themselves often staring at one another with that attraction. Daniel didn't think he could go there, the two personalities clashed too much. He didn't want to risk the team or hurt her if things went wrong. He'd already made that mistake. 

Speaking of Jack. Daniel's eyes had begun searching for him the minute he'd entered the room. He didn't know why, old habits died hard he guessed. He knew for sure Jack was going to be here, he'd prepared himself for that. They were still friends, he had accepted that two and a half years ago. Christ. Had it really been nearly three years since they'd parted for good? A sudden old ache entered Daniel's heart for just a moment, sometimes, it still did hurt him. 

The joint chiefs were scattered about, drinking the fine champagne that had been offered to them when they had walked in, along with the embarrassing applause. He, Sam and Mitchell accepted the alcohol without hesitation, he needed something to take away his nervousness. Of course, he knew Sam was as bad as he was; she didn't like these sort of things much either. Funny, they'd saved the galaxy plenty of times before, but this was there first ever real celebration for it. It seemed the political smucks were finally grateful. But then again, it wasn't just the defeat of the Ori, they'd also diminished the last of the system lords too. General Hammond and Landry were about, making friendly greetings with everyone.

“There's a lot of people here” Vala said, taking long sips of her wine. He really should keep an eye on her, she still had a tendency to flirt some. 

“I guess this is pretty big, I mean we did pretty much defeat the Ori and the last of the system lords at the same time” Sam replied. “They have been dominating the galaxy for thousands of years”

“Not to mention how much technology we've gained from everything over the years, especially the Asgard core” Daniel said

“It sort of feels like an end doesn't it? Like we've done everything”

“It seems so” Teal'c said

“Not so much for me, I'm still at the beginning” Mitchell said

“We've come a long way, that's for sure” Daniel said

Sam placed her head on Daniel's shoulder for a moment “We really have”

The group took a moment, it really did feel like some sort of end to an era. They knew there were still hundreds of planets out there to discover. But that could be passed on to others, much younger explorers, because while they were the experts, it didn't stop time. Except for some cases, Mitchell was younger then them, Vala, they actually wasn't sure. And Teal'c would probably out live them all. 

Daniel spotted him then, Jack. He entered the room from the other side, his dress blues fitting nicely. Oh god how Daniel had loved him in those. For a moment, it seemed as though Daniel's heart had stopped, like time was frozen and only the two of them were in the room as they seemed to lock eyes. 

“It'll be starting soon” Sam said, smiling and waving Jack over with a small flick of her hand. 

Daniel shook himself out of his daze, it didn't matter how long they had been apart, how much he told himself he was over him. Jack could still do things to him that no amount of time could squash. But dammit he looked good, damn good; even now, even with his silver hair and more years to his age. Daniel didn't care, Jack was fucking hot! Crap. 

Daniel took a long sip of his wine, he was in way over his head, he needed to calm down; why didn't this celebration start already? 

He'd thought he was over him, he was damn sure of it too. Until that whole situation with the Ori happened, when he'd been turned into a prior. Jack was there, and he knew deep down Jack was angry that they had planned to terminate his life. Daniel watched Jack greet people as he made his way across the room. 

~ Daniel awoke feeling drained, his powers were gone, Merlin no longer possessing his body. Jack was sitting there next to him, Mitchell the other side. But he didn't know how long it had been since he'd last seen Jack beside him when he'd woken up in an infirmary. Jack reached over a tousled his hair, tousled his hair! How long had it been since that had happened? ~

Something in Daniel stirred then, he swore he'd seen something in Jack's eyes that day. It was unexpected, not the fact that Jack had been there at all, but Jack still being there, even after their mission was over. He felt warmth inside him, that Jack had stayed there, with him, until he had awoken; whether it was to see if he was ok or not, but judging from the way Jack had ruffled his hair with that sheepish smile. He'd like to think so. 

Then he saw her. Kerri Johnson. She was there too, walking across the room to greet Jack. Bitch. Jack smiled at her and shook her hand, Daniel watched for any sign of affection in their greeting. Of course, Jack could do whatever he wished now. They were no longer an item, hadn't been for a good while. Still. Jack released her hand, she smiled in what looked like regret and left him to wonder and greet people of her own. Good, Daniel thought. He knew he was being childish, if a little spiteful. 

Jack finally made his way over to them, taking a glass of champagne from a tray that a waiter was holding, on his travel. “Kids” Jack greeted playfully. “How's it going?”

“It's pretty overwhelming sir” Sam. Ever the professional

“Well, there's a first for everything, seems that all our hard work paid off afterall. Three of those years being yours of course”

“You are still a valuable source to the command O'Neill, that will never change”  
Teal'c. A man of wisdom.

“Thank you, appreciate that” Jack glanced at Daniel quickly, who was somewhere between pouting about Kerri and trying his damnedest not to check out a certain general in front of him. Jack then turned to Mitchell. “So, how does one find the whole Stargate travels?”

Mitchell smiled “It's pretty damn amazing, sir”

“That it is, and you couldn't ask for a better team”

Daniel wanted to crawl into a ball, he didn't know why he was finding things so hard, being near Jack like this. “I'm going to get some more wine” and then he left to do just that. They all watched him go. Jack wondered about him, worried for him, how Daniel might be taking things after everything that had happened, not just with them, but the savior of the galaxy from the Ori. And Ba'al. That had to lift a big weight of your shoulders.

“I wouldn't worry about him sir, he's fine. You know these things aren't his cup of tea” Sam said

“Not that I ever saw Jackson drink Tea of any form” Mitchell said, Sam laughed a little.

Jack made a note to talk to him in a moment. He turned to Vala. “I never got to congratulate you on becoming part of SG1, I don't suppose it was easy”

“Thank you Colonel. And no, not so easy, but I knew they wouldn't be able to resist my good charms for long”

Sam shook her head, Mitchell and Teal'c hid their smiles as Jack shook her hand. Wondering how the team coped with such an energetic hyper woman. 

Jack found Daniel leaning against one of the buffet tables at the back of the room, another glass of champagne in his hand. “Hey”

Daniel took a sip of his drink before saying anything. “Hey”

“You ok?”

“Peachy”

“Yep, I'm convinced”

“I'm fine, just- these things, I don't do well in this sort of crowd”

“I know, I don't think they expect any kind of speech or anything; if that's any help, in fact, I made sure of it”

“Oh. Well. Thanks, that actually does help”

“So. You gotta be pretty upbeat about the Ori huh?”

“I am, I mean, I'm proud of how hard we worked and what we did to achieve that”

“Me too” Daniel looked at Jack, that sparkle in his eyes, that same look from the ship's infirmary. Jack smiled. “I'm proud of you, all of you”

“Thanks”

There was a sudden roar of applause as they turned to see the President enter the room. Camera flashes around as he stepped up onto the podium. 

The hush of cheer died down and President Hayes smiled as he took a deep breath. Daniel and Jack made their way back to the group.

“I cannot express enough how grateful and proud I am, proud of each and every one of those that serve under Cheyenne mountain. That what the Stargate Command and it's fine officers, consultants and civilians have achieved for our great country, hell the planet. When I first moved into the white house as president four years ago and they told me about Stargate Command, I thought, someone has to be playing a bad joke” he earned laughs among the audience. 

“But then, well, then one of the very bad guys appeared right in the middle of my office. I thought, oh, well, this wasn't in the manual” more laughs were earned. “Then I knew, that we were going to have one hell of a fight on our hands. I thought, hell, imagine the magnitude, the courageousness, that the people of Stargate command are having to deal with. That they have to deal with every day. Just listening to that intense battle that day, was enough to convince me that the SGC was doing a damn fine job, despite what some people may have thought. I know they were against what was going on there. But I don't think anyone, anywhere, really understands just what those good people of the command go through to keep us safe. I know for a fact that if not for them, I wouldn't be standing here giving this commending speech, none of us would. And if not for a certain team, ten years ago, we'd have been wiped out a long time ago, and many more times after that. I'm talking about Stargate Command's first and foremost front line team. SG1. Former team leader: Major General Jack O'Neill. Current Leader: Lieutenant Cameron Mitchell. Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, her expertise on the gate and alien technology has often provided us with tremendous knowledge of saving the world” Sam smiled, she was bashful then. “Teal'c. Words cannot express how grateful we are, for your continuous friendship and protection of our great planet, even if it meant going against your own people” Teal'c felt proud of that “Vala Mal Doran. Whose only been with the team a short time, but has also proven to be a great asset to the SGC, her skills and alliance have been much appreciated” Vala smiled, she was puffed with pride. “And of course, the man who made this whole thing even possible, the man who first opened our gate back in 1994. his great knowledge of cultures, ancient languages and expert archaeology, have been of great importance to the team throughout the years. Doctor Daniel Jackson” Daniel was just plain embarrassed, the others grinned at him.

“Now I know some had their views, had we not opened the gate, none of this would have happened in the first place. But I believe, even without that gate, the Goa'uld had such technology, ships for example, they would have found us eventually. And I don't mind saying that if that happened, we'd have been royally screwed” a small amount of giggles ensued. “And none of this would have been possible without the Command's brilliant leadership, former Commander General George Hammond and current leader General Hank Landry. I also know that the Command has lost a great number of good people doing their duty. And while I would love to name each and every one of them, one name sticks out, Doctor Janet Frasier. A great and brave Doctor and beloved friend to those closest. I'm sorry she couldn't be with us today on this celebration. But Janet, we did it. They did it. So we're here to give our utmost gratitude to Stargate Command, to the people that made it possible. To SG1” A roar of applause and cheers were let out after the President had finished his speech. “Thank you”

“I'm not sure what to say” Sam said, she was awestruck

“Not a bad thing, is it? Being appreciated” Mitchell said

“If a little over board” Daniel said

“Don't be modest Daniel” Jack told him. “You deserve it”

“We all do” Vala said

“It is but a glorious day, worthy of celebration” Teal'c said

It was then the president spoke again “I've been requested that no speeches are to be given, and I have to admit, it is a little overwhelming for them. But there is one more thing I'd like to address here. If SG1 wouldn't mind stepping up here for a moment, to receive these medals, for their braveness, tremendous efforts and their continuous participation for this great planet” 

“Oh god” Daniel groaned

“Neat, I wonder if it's made of gold” Vala said with a beaming smile, the group looked at her for a moment. “What?”

“Well this is unexpected” Mitchell said, feeling a little bit embarrassed

“You're telling me” Daniel said. He felt Jack clap him on the back.

“Come on guys, I got you out of a speech, I can't do everything”

“I'd like for Generals Hammond, Landry and O'Neill to join us also, for I believe SG1 wouldn't feel right without them, knowing they're as much a part of the team as anyone” the President smiled

“Ha” Daniel scoffed, feeling a little better about it now

“Don't milk it” Jack scorned lightly, shoving him a little 

Applause erupted around the room as the desired members of Stargate Command stepped up onto the platform. Each of them lined themselves before the President, Daniel in the middle; not wanting to be the last one and not the first either. 

“General O'Neill” Hayes clipped on the medal and they saluted each other. “God knows you deserve it”

“Thank you sir”

“George, how did you manage to keep this a secret? All those years?”

Hammond smiled and then saluted him as a medal was pinned to his jacket. “With utmost care, and some difficulty”

“General Landry, you're doing a fine job there” 

“Thank you Mr President”

“Lieutenant Colonel Carter, I'm glad to finally give you something worthy of your efforts”

“Thank you sir” Sam tried not to blush, she was so awed. 

“Doctor Jackson”

“Daniel. Is fine, sir”

“Daniel, it's good to have you back with us. From what I hear, this is quite a habit of yours, you deserve this, after all that's happened”

“Thank you sir, I appreciate that”

“Teal'c, it is my great honor to award you this medal”

Teal'c bowed his head “The honor is mine to receive it”

“Miss Mal Doran, I'm always delighted to hear about how much effort you've put into making yourself one of us. Congratulations” 

“Thank you very much, I really feel I've found myself here”

“Good, we owe each of you a lot more, thank you for all that you have done for us, this country and this planet”

The room was loudly filled with more applause as SG1 turned to face them, their medals shining proudly.

Daniel sighed as he collapsed on the bed of his hotel room. He was exhausted, the jacket and tie of his suit already discarded on the chair at his table. His medal hanging from the mirror on the wall. The evening went better then he expected, at least from a political stand point. Now he was tired, eager to get a good nights sleep, having to be checked out of the hotel by ten. Not to mention they'd all agreed to have breakfast together with Jack before heading back to Colorado. And wasn't that a kick in the teeth, saying goodbye to Jack. He still wondered about that look. Daniel knew he was deluding himself, but they'd had such a good evening, they'd got along better then they had done in a long while. 

There was a sudden knock on his door, Daniel looked over at the bedside clock. 23;00, what the hell? At first he was just inclined to ignore it, then it came again. Daniel cursed and muttered something incoherent as he got up from the bed. He shuffled his shoe-less feet across the room, having already taken them off to let his aching feet breath. He was not expecting to find Jack at his door, of all people. 

“Hey” Jack greeted casually “Mind If I come in?”

“Um, I was just going to get an early night, a breakfast and flight to catch, you know”

“I know, and I'm sorry it's late. I just wanted to- well”

“Talk? Catch up? See me?”

“Ok” 

Daniel contemplated his answer, was he playing on deadly territory? “Yeh, sure” he stood aside to allow Jack in. 

“Nice room”

Daniel shrugged, “You didn't come to see if my room met the expectations of the evening”

Jack, shoved his hands in his pockets; out of his dress blues, now dressed in a pair of beige trousers and a long sleeved grey top, although the sleeves were rolled up; showing his strong forearms. Something Daniel always loved. “No” Jack finally said. “I guess not”

“So?”

“Look, it's late, I probably shouldn't have come. I just wanted to congratulate you. To tell you that in person” Jack moved to leave and Daniel grabbed for his right arm. 

“We both know that's a lie Jack”

“It's not”

“It's not?”

“Maybe”

“Then what is it!? I'm not in the mood for your guessing games Jack, I'm too tired to read between the lines, so if you need to say something, please. Say it”  
Jack opened his mouth to say something, he still sucked at this. Even now. Instead he leaned forward swiftly and captured Daniel's lips with his own. 

He pulled back after a few seconds. Looking at Daniel, looking for any hints his affection had been correlative. 

“Oh” Daniel gazed at him and then returned Jack's kiss. Relief flooded them both. It was as if a parade of sparks flared up between them. Something of long lost hope. Daniel's hands came up and around Jack's neck. Jack's hands followed suit, fingering Daniel's hair. Eventually the two came up for air, breathing heavily, not wanting to let go. “Jack...”

“I know...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-”

“No, it's ok. I'm not- I just, I need time.”

“I want us again Daniel. For real this time. No messing around. No crap. I didn't know nor realize it until that whole prior thing”

“I knew it, I knew I'd seen something there”

“Now seeing you here, I don't want you out of my life anymore” Daniel wasn't sure what he was hearing. It was crazy. He half wondered if when he'd collapsed on the bed that he'd fallen asleep. That he was dreaming now. “Daniel. Say something”

Daniel realized he had been silent for a while. “Jack- I don't know what to say”

“Look, I know it's a bit, out of the blue. I've no right to ask you back. I just- I still love you Daniel, I never stopped loving you”

Daniel's mouth gaped open, all this time, even after so long, so long of telling himself he'd never have Jack again, that he was over him. Now Jack was standing there, in his hotel room, declaring his never ceased love. Daniel knew it, had known it. “I guess a part of me never stopped loving you either, never had”

Jack almost smiled, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. Not yet. “I'm in Colorado in a few days. I'll be staying at the cabin. Maybe we could talk about it then”

“Ok” Daniel gave him a small smile and then met Jack for another kiss. “Goodnight”

“Goodnight, Daniel”

…..................................

Daniel pulled his car up to the cabin on Jack's driveway. He'd been thinking about what had happened in the hotel ever since it happened. Thinking about what it would mean if they did get back together. There were so many pros and cons to it, and Daniel had a lot of things he needed to say before they went anywhere, if they ever did. One thing still nagged at him, even now, two and a half years later: the whole Kerri Johnson situation. Daniel didn't want to bring that hurt up again, but if they were going to do this, everything needed to be laid out on the table. 

Daniel took a deep breath as he got out of the car, shutting the door and walking up to the front porch. He knew Jack was expecting him, but he knocked on the door, it had been a while since he'd been here, at least just the two of them. Jack answered the door, Daniel nearly fell over. Jack was wearing a black jacket over a white shirt and dark blue jeans. “Um...”

“I look that good huh?”

Jack took Daniel's silence as a yes and stood aside to allow him in. Daniel glanced around, there were no lights on but the cabin was lit by candles. And just inside the kitchen, Daniel could see the table, covered with white linen. Accompanied with that were two more candles, a silver bucket full of ice which held an expensive looking bottle of wine. Two white plates were set up opposite each other, with red napkins and laid out cutlery. 

To say he was surprised was an understatement, the cabin had never looked this way before. He and Jack hadn't ever had this kind of evening, they were guys after all, it seemed a little dramatic, at least that's how they felt. But seeing it now, Daniel couldn't help but be impressed, he felt warmth spread across his heart. Almost forgetting that he really did want to talk before anything happened. “Jack, this all looks-”

“A bit much?”

“I was going to say amazing”

“Well, I think you deserve it. I told you, no more crap. I want to do things right”

Daniel hung his jacket up on the coat hooks by the door and turned back to Jack. “I kind of feel under dressed for this” Daniel was wearing light jeans and a grey plaid hooded top”

“You look great” Daniel smiled a little. “Dinner won't be ready for a about half hour, we can open the wine, talk a bit, if you want”

“Ok....cause there are things I need to say. Before we-”

“I know, but do you think that could wait until after dinner?”

Daniel thought about it, if they felt the need to yell, then it was going to ruin the dinner that Jack had gone to the trouble of cooking. “Ok, it does smell good; who knew you could cook this much”

“Never tried much”

The two sat down at the table, drank some of the ice cold wine and spoke about light things, past times from the SGC, the team and the president's speech. 

They soon shared companionable silence as they ate the Spaghetti bolognese that Jack had cooked, along with garlic bread and more wine. So far, the evening was going well; they finished up their meal. Each of them doing a fair share of the cleaning up. The inevitable talk was coming, the two didn't want to get into any heated arguments, but things would have to be said. 

They sat down in the candle lit living room with the wine on the table, sitting a few paces a part on the couch. “Do you wanna start or-” Jack said, feeling tense. 

Daniel took a sip of his wine and then leaned forward. “Ok” he began. “I don't want to bring any hurt back up. But for this to work again-”

“Don't worry about it, we knew this wouldn't be easy”

“Kerri Johnson”

“Daniel...” anything but that, Jack had preyed

“Please Jack, I really do need to know why you did it. Why did you sleep with her?”

Jack knew she would come up in the conversation, she was the sole reason why their relationship ended in the first place. At first Daniel didn't think Jack was going to answer. “I was scared” Jack finally said.

“Of what?”

“I thought I'd really lost you. I kept telling everyone, Carter especially, that you'd be back, cause you always did. But, for some reason, it felt different, I felt I really had lost you. I felt guilty, like maybe if I had been there, if I could have done something. Then that meeting with Johnson, she'd figured it out Daniel; she knew about us, read it somehow in my grievance. I found it easy to talk to her about you, about what I was feeling, just because she knew. I got carried away, got drunk and- you know”

Daniel was frowning, but he tried not to, he placed his wine on the table. “Ok”

“I know I shouldn't have. And not a day goes by that I don't regret it. You had every right to be angry, still do and I don't blame you for walking out”

“I know, I know you're sorry. I know how much you regret what you did and how much it hurt when I left. My regret is that I didn't hear you out more, but I really was pissed”

“Yeh”

“There's something I don't understand, why now? Why not a year ago, or back when I missed my ride to Atlantis?”

“I thought you still might get to go, you deserved that, I didn't want to stop you this time. And it never seemed the right time. Then when I was called about the prior thing, when I was informed what had happened to you. What was going to happen, I was overcome with need, need to be there for you, to protect you. Seeing you there at the celebration, I knew I wanted it, wanted what we had, I needed you back. It seemed as though it was finally the right time, what with the defeat of the Ori and all”

“How would that go Jack? Because...you're in Washington”

“I figured with everything that's happened with us in the past, we could make it work. The distance thing”

Daniel didn't seem happy with that answer “I don't think us starting a relationship like that is worth it. Jack, I can't take it. My heart won't take it, it's too much”

Jack watched Daniel stand up, taking off his glasses; he wasn't sure but he'd seen a few stray tears in Daniel's eyes. “I'll retire” he blurted it out without thinking, but now that he had, it didn't seem bad. For the first time, retirement finally sounded right.

Daniel snorted, “Yeh sure. Retire” 

“I'm serious”

“Yeh”

“You don't believe me?”

“I wouldn't ask”

Jack reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black box, something he'd wanted to do a long time ago. Daniel was still facing the fire place, away from him. Jack stood up. “Marry me”

Daniel stilled, he slowly turned around; his heart began beating faster as Jack bent down on one knee, ignoring the ache. “Jack? W-what are doing?”

“I'll retire. I'm serious. I love you. Marry me, Daniel”

“Jack”

“No more crap, no more behind closed doors, the DADT was rebuked, will you marry me?”

Daniel was lost for words, this was not what he'd expected “We haven't even got back together yet”

“I don't care, we've been together, a long time, screw the last two and a half years. I want us here and now” Jack opened the box, the band was plain, but it was real gold, Daniel could tell. 

Daniel bit his lip, he was awestruck, completely off guard. Suddenly, in that moment, seeing Jack there, ready to pack up his career, ready to be someone Daniel needed. It all made sense. “Yes”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I'll marry you, Jack” Jack smiled from ear to ear and stood up, he grabbed Daniel and kissed him for all he was worth. 

“I love you, so damn much” Jack placed the ring on Daniel's left finger and Daniel smiled.

“I love you too”

**Author's Note:**

> I plan to finish things up after this Chapter, to finalize things. hope you've all enjoyed the story


End file.
